tennis betting

ATP Memphis Tennis Betting Info
There is an interesting looking field at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships at the Memphis Racquet Club. Plenty of good tennis betting options here in a decent looking field, who are competing for the ATP World Tour 500 event. So good ranking points available this week in this indoor hard court event. We should see some good tennis betting action this week from the event, which is one of three going on this week on the ATP Tour (alongside Marseille and Buenos Aires)

ATP Memphis Tennis Betting Defending Champion
Andy Roddick, the scrappy, quick serving American is the defending champion here, and has won the event on two of the last three times of trying. So he will make a good option in your ATP Memphis tennis betting because of his track record here. He is usually a strong starter to the new season, but he has been really quiet so far, bowing out in the round of 64 at the Australian Open and then only reaching the quarter finals at San Jose. Still, he will be gunning for his fourth title at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and that means that could be the event which sparks his season into lift. Trading at around 5/1 with BetFair, he could do with a few more games under  his belt, but has form at the event as the defending champion.

ATP Memphis Tennis Betting Favourite
It is young Canadian star Milos Raonic who is starting the week as favourite in your ATP Memphis tennis betting. One of the true rising stars of the ATP Tour, he reached the final here last year, losing out to Roddick. This time last year, Memphis was his second final in a row, but already this season, he has started living up to his enormous potential in terms of titles. He has won two of three events this season, taking the titles in Chennai and most recently in San Jose last weekend, where he beat Denis Istomin in the final. So the young Canadian is carrying superb form and is on the rise and rise in the world of men’s tennis. Raonic has a powerful serve for a youngster and holds an 11-1 season match record going into Memphis. Therefore the bookies are seeing him as the biggest danger in the field.

Other Contenders
While Roddick and Raonic are looking like the two main protagonists in ATP Memphis tennis betting, there are a couple of other big names we should be weighing up. Big American John Isner is also in the field and actually starts as number one seed. Isner will be looking for his big serves to fire him through the rounds. Isner hasn’t really performed much this season, so really don’t know what to expect from him. The same can be said of Marin Cilic, who makes his season debut here in Memphis, and even Jurgen Melzer is lacking some punch this season. So Sam Querrey, despite being an outsider in terms of world rankings is a former winner here. He lifted the title back in 2010 and holds a pretty handy 12-4 match record at the event. So the event looks as if there is a lot of unknowns floating around in terms of season form, but the stand out candidate really is Raonic for your ATP Memphis tennis betting, simply because of the strong season he has been having so far.

Latest ATP Memphis Tennis Betting Prices
Milos Raonic: 2/1 at Bet365
John Isner: 3/1 at BetFair
Andy Roddick: 4/1 at Paddy Power
Ivan Dodig: 5/1 at SportingBet
Radek Stepanek: 5/1 at Bet365
Sam Querrey: 7/1 at BetFair
Kevin Anderson: 8/1 at William Hill

Online Bookmaker Promotion
Online bookmaker Bet Victor run a great tennis betting promotion which is worth dipping into throughout the 2012 season. Place a match bet on any match from the main draw of an ATP or WTA event, and if your selection loses the match in a final set tie break, then you will get your lost stake back as a free bet. So this gives you some nice coverage on your tennis betting throughout the season, should your match selection lose in a cruel way in a final set tie break. Online bookmaker Bet Victor offer a free £25 bet for new customers registering an account. The bookie will match the value of your first stake on a new account, up to the maximum value of £25, with a free bet.

There are some interesting tennis betting odds floating around at the moment for the 2012 Davis Cup betting. The World Group of the international tournament, which completed its first round matches last week, takes a break until April for the quarter finals. Rafael Nadal’s Spain took the 2011 title against Argentina at the back end of last season, and although they are the top ranked team in the world and they are the number one seeds for 2012 Davis Cup betting, they are not the favourites with the bookies and therefore represent a decent bit of value. Spain crushed Kazakhstan in their first round match 5-0 and move on to play the unseeded Austria. With the Spaniards having a lot of depth to call on (not using Nadal or David Ferrer for their first round match) they do make good value, but are out at around fourth favourites to take the title again this year. If they win their match against Austria as expected, Spain will set up a semi final clash against France or the United States. Both of those could be tricky opposition, and it is France who are trading at shorter odds in 2012 Davis Cup tennis betting at the moment. France eased past Canada in their first round match, and the presence of Jo Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils as the backbone of their team, will of course serve them very well. This is all in the top half of the draw and it is down in the bottom half where the two strongest challenges are likely to come from.

Firstly there is Serbia, and with Novak Djokovic in their ranks, well, that’s worth a bit deal of course. Even without Djokovic, Serbia beat out Sweden 4-1 and there is a solid enough team in place for the Serbians to go far, with Janko Tipsarevic and Viktor Troicki backing up the world number one. The other strong challenge will of course come from Argentina, last year’s losing finalists. The ace in their pack of course is Juan Martin del Potro, but again it is the strength in depth which really has to be taken into consideration. They have Juan Ignacio Chela, Juan Monaco and David Nalbandian to call upon, and those three secured comfortable victory against Germany in the first round of the 2012 Davis Cup. The big draw here is that a likely semi clash of Serbia v Argentina will be on the cards and therefore we will lose one of the strongest challengers for the title this year. So what all of that does, really swings us back around to Spain from the top half of the draw, as they do have an easier route to the final. If they square up against France in the semi finals, would you back Rafael Nadal and world number five David Ferrer to take out Tsonga and Monfils. Pretty much, yes, more importantly so because Spain would have home court advantage being the higher seeded team. So Spain, although they aren’t backed strongly by the bookies at the moment, actually make a very viable option in 2012 Davis Cup tennis betting. Where are Britain in all of this? Well they are in Group I, a tier below the World Group, and they lost out in their first round match against Slovakia, so are out.

2012 Davis Cup Tennis Betting Odds
Serbia: 11/4 at Boylesports
France: 3/1 at Bet Victor
Argentina: 4/1 at William Hill
Spain: 9/2 at Bet365
Czech Republic: 11/1 at Paddy Power
USA: 12/1 at Bwin
Croatia: 50/1 at Bwin
Austria: 80/1 at Paddy Power

Online bookmaker Bet356 offer a free £200 bet for new customers registering an account. The bookie will match the value of your first deposit on a new account, with a 100% bonus. This means that on your new Bet365 account, you can get £200 worth of free bets, as they match your initial deposit. Bet365 provide superb tennis betting coverage through their live in play services, and are one of the most highly recommended online bookmakers available.

There is live tennis streams this week from online bookmaker Bet365. The popular bookie is showing live streams from the ATP San Jose Open tennis, as the second oldest men’s tournament on US soil celebrates its 120th year. There has been many a famous name winning this tournament, from Andy Murray to Andre Agassi to Pete Sampras and John McEnroe. This is an ATP World Tour 250 event, and this is an indoor tournament out in San Jose. There is a good field in attendance with young rising Canadian star Milos Raonic back to defend his title. At the San Jose Open last season, Raonic, the 2011 Newcomer of the Year, was in fine form and he went all the way to land his first ever ATP Tour tile, beating Spain’s Fernando Verdasco in the final. Raonic goes in the top half of the draw as third seed, but is on a collision course with number one seed Gael Monfils in the semi final. The popular Frenchman, always a great draw for the crowds and who finished as runner up in Doha recently and reached the semi final stage here last year and goes as one of the favourites in ATP San Jose Open tennis betting. America’s Andy Roddick is in the field too and he has triumphed in San Jose three times before in his career. He missed last year’s tournament but on his last appearance in 2010 he made it to the final again, but lost against Verdasco. Czech star Radek Stepanek, the 2009 San Jose champion has good tournament history, reaching the final on both of his previous experiences here. So he is also making a strong bet for the title. The stars in San Jose can be enjoyed through Bet365’s live tennis streams this week. The highly rated online bookmaker is again providing superb coverage of a top sporting event for their customers.

Online bookmaker Bet356 offer a free £200 bet for new customers registering an account. The bookie will match the value of your first deposit on a new account, with a 100% bonus. This means that on your new Bet365 account, you can get £200 worth of free bets, as they match your initial deposit. Bet365 provide superb tennis betting coverage through their live in play services, and are one of the most highly recommended online bookmakers available. The ability to tune in live to a free stream is a great way to enhance your live in play tennis betting of course. Being able to watch the action should allow you to make more accurate judgement calls on your betting. Bet365 provide all of their streams live and free to their customers. All that is needed to gain access is to be a funded account holder with them, and then you will be able to tune in and bet at the same time with Bet365.

WTA Qatar Total Open Tennis Betting Info
Big Premier level tournament for your WTA tennis betting this week, with a strong top ten presence at the event. This is a hard court event, and we will get to see a strong crop of players contesting the big tournament. The biggest story of the tournament this time is that Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka starts her first tournament as world number one, and it will be interesting to see how well she handles the pressure after taking over from Caroline Wozniacki. Wozniacki is in contention here and will probably be pretty determined to get back on top of the world. There is British interest as well for your tennis betting here, with Anne Keothavong continuing her good early season form by taking out Austria’s Tamira Paszek in the first round.

WTA Qatar Total Open Tennis Betting Defending Champion
Vera Zvonareva is the reigning Doha champion and she is back for the defence of her title. She is not playing anywhere near the level she was around twelve months or so ago and she is not being fancied to successfully defend the title she won against Caroline Wozniacki in the final here last year. Zvonareva also reached the final in 2008 but couldn’t close out the deal, so she has a decent bit of event history, but she is just not in great form. After failure to make an impression at the Australian Open, she put in an appearance at Pattaya City last week and again failed, retiring in her quarter final match against Sorana Cirstea. The prices the bookies have the Russian at is fully reflected in the long price of 20/1 at Bet Victor for her here.

WTA Qatar Total Open Tennis Betting Favourite
There is a clear favourite in WTA Qatar Open tennis betting this week, and that is the world number one Victoria Azarenka. The Belarusian fully confirmed her progression and step up in maturity and class by landing her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open earlier in the year. She is playing powerful tennis at the moment, has gotten over her inconsistencies and mental lapses, to stand on top of the world. She is one of the most powerful hitters of the ball, and with two titles from her two tournament appearances this year, she is definite favourite in tennis betting here. Azarenka is trading at 5/2 favourite with Bet Victor. The draw ahead looks comfortable enough for her, with the unpredictable Francesca Schiavone being the top seed she could meet in the semi finals. There could be an interesting clash against Daniela Hantuchova who won Pattaya last week in the third round. Still, it should be comfortable for Azarenka, the most likely semi final opponent in the draw being Agnieszka Radwanska who is fourth seed for the tournament.

Other Contenders
Caroline Wozniacki has to be mentioned here, even though she hasn’t been at her best for a while now. Her two tournament appearances this season have ended in quarter final exits, once against Agnieszka Radwanska in Sydney and then against Kim Clijsters at the Australian Open. The same powerful consistency has just not been there from the former world number one, and whether it is the fact that she has dropped her intensity in matches, or her game plan, which does lack a powerful finishing shot, has been found out. Right now, it’s not the easiest route to the final for Wozniacki, with Svetlana Kuznetsova and Marion Bartoli in her quarter of the draw. French star Marion Bartoli is always worth a look in your WTA tennis betting. The bubbly Bartoli went to the final of Paris last week, but lost out there against Angelique Kerber. Still, Bartoli is good enough to win the quarter ahead of Wozniacki. Defending Champion Vera Zvonareva does have a comfortable draw ahead of her, so there is a good chance for her to get back to the final. Agnieszka Radwanska, who played so well at Melbourne Park before being overpowered by Victoria Azarenka, is not a bad shout at all to make it to the semi’s where she would likely set up a rematch against Azarenka. Young Romania Sorana Cirstea played very well at Pattaya City last week and is the easier Zvonareva quarter of the draw. Sabine Lisicki is also in the line up, and just waiting for her to get into gear for the new year.

WTA Qatar Total Open Tennis Betting Prices
Victoria Azarenka: 5/2 at Bet Victor
Caroline Wozniacki: 11/2 at BetFred
Agnieszka Radwanska: 10/1 at Bet Victor
Sam Stosur: 18/1 at Stan James
Vera Zvonareva: 20/1 at Bet Victor
Marion Bartoli: 20/1 at Bet Victor
Jelena Jankovic: 25/1 at Bet Victor
Ana Ivanovic: 33/1 at BetFred
Sabine Lisicki: 33/1 at Stan James

Online Bookmaker Promotion
Online bookmaker Bet Victor run a great tennis betting promotion which is worth dipping into throughout the 2012 season. Place a match bet on any match from the main draw of an ATP or WTA event, and if your selection loses the match in a final set tie break, then you will get your lost stake back as a free bet. So this gives you some nice coverage on your tennis betting throughout the season, should your match selection lose in a cruel way in a final set tie break. Online bookmaker Bet Victor offer a free £25 bet for new customers registering an account. The bookie will match the value of your first stake on a new account, up to the maximum value of £25, with a free bet.

WTA Pattaya City Tennis Betting Info
The tournament offering here in Thailand offers a bit warmer climate to that of the stars who decide stay in Europe and contest in Paris. However, the lure of the Paris Open is a bit stronger than the Pattaya City event, although it is held in a beautiful location. Still, there is a decent field to look at for your tennis betting for this week from the event, led by Russian Vera Zvonareva, who could really do with getting a title under her belt for confidence. Granted the depth of the field is not as strong at the Paris Open, that does mean the tennis betting choices are not too difficult to sort though. There is one strong favourite, and a very small chasing pack of contenders. We also have some British interest at the event, with youngster Heather Watson going, along with Laura Robson (who is in the firing line of Vera Zvonareva) and Anne Keothavong as well. Keothavong (along with Elena Baltacha) helped Great Britain get through their Fed Ex Cup match on the weekend, moving ahead to a play off place in April. It would be nice to get a British win, because all British entrants apart from Andy Murray fell in the first round of the Australian Open, so they need a bit of a cheer. So an extra bit of tennis betting interest there in backing the Brits, and it is Watson who really has the best chance to go the farthest.

WTA Pattaya City Defending Champion
The defending Champion is the experienced and classy athlete that is Daniela Hantuchova. The Slovakian beat out Sara Errani in the final last year, dropping just two games in a totally one sided affair. She is back again this time to try and defend her title and is trading at 5/1 with SkyBet to do just that. Hantuchova is in pretty decent form at the start of the new year, reaching the final of Brisbane, then losing out in the quarter finals of Sydney to Petra Kvitova, before running into Kim Clijsters at the Australian Open early in the tournament. Hantuchova won both of her Fed Ex Cup Week 1 matches for her country on the weekend, and she looks in pretty good shape to have another run at the title here. It has to be said that she has an easier looking draw for WTA Pattaya City betting than she did last year, so she will have high expectations of herself. Always a great competitor, not always the greatest, most consistent finisher, but a classy competitor all the way, capable of beating the best when she is at her very best.

WTA Pattaya City Betting Favourite
While Hantuchova is looking pretty strong, she is not favourite in WTA Pattaya City betting. The bookies have bestowed that honour upon thee shoulders of Vera Zvonareva, and here is why. She is a two time winner of Pattaya City, lifting the crown in 2009 and 2010. She reached the semi finals here last year as well, but she ran into a wonderfully in form Daniela Hantuchova, who edged past here. Zvonareva has lost ground and a bit of touch with the rest of the top ten, now sliding down into 8th in the world, and as disappointing 2011 was, 2012 has not started too much better. With a first round exit in Sydney, and third round exit against world 56 Ekaterina Makarova at the Australian Open, Zvonareva is a long way from her best. Not sure if we are going to see the back to back Grand Slam final-reaching Zvonareva return any time soon. Really this is the level of tournament which she should be eating up, but right now, there are no certainties with the Russian, and while she remains the bookies favourite because of tournament history, her main challenger Daniela Hantuchova may just be the better option.

Other Contenders
Arguably while the field in Pattaya City is not as strong as that of Paris, the options in the chasing pack are better. If that makes any sense. For example, with have the sparky Heather Watson, who has a genuine chance of going deep in the tournament because of the draw. Granted she squares off against eighth seed Vania King in the first round, but if the Brit negotiates that, then it should be plain sailing until the semi’s. Daniela Hantuchova’s fellow countrywoman Dominika Cibulkova is worth a look as well, because of the line up of the draw, and she actually goes as second seed, which we are still trying to work out why. It matters not, because she will probably still have to go through third seed Hantuchova in the bottom half of the draw, and a match between the Slovakian number one and two would be pretty interesting. Cibulkova is really promising for the future, but would take the old hand of Hantuchova over the youngster. One other youngster we are not going to overlook, although she is headed for a potential quarter final against Vera Zvonareva, is young Romanian Sorana Cirstea. There could be great things for her to come this year if she pushes her potential forwards. She reached the quarter finals of Hobart, and then punters may remember her for her first round effort at the Australian Open where she scored a fantastic victory over fifth seed Sam Stosur. She started off her first round in Pattaya City with a crushing win, dropping just four games on her way to victory. Tournament fourth seed Maria Kirilenko is there too, pretty much Maria Sharapova without the aggression.

Latest WTA Pattaya City Betting Prices
Vera Zvonareva: 10/3 at BetFred
Daniela Hantuchova: 5/1 at SkyBet
Dominika Cibulkova: 6/1 at Stan James
Ji Zheng: 13/2 at Bet365
Maria Kirilenko: 9/1 at Bet Victor
Sorana Cirstea: 12/1 at Bet365

Online Bookmaker Promotion
Online bookmaker Bet Victor run a great tennis betting promotion which is worth dipping into throughout the 2012 season. Place a match bet on any match from the main draw of an ATP or WTA event, and if your selection loses the match in a final set tie break, then you will get your lost stake back as a free bet. So this gives you some nice coverage on your tennis betting throughout the season, should your match selection lose in a cruel way in a final set tie break. Online bookmaker Bet Victor offer a free £25 bet for new customers registering an account. The bookie will match the value of your first stake on a new account, up to the maximum value of £25, with a free bet.

Now that the excitement and disappointments (for all but two singles players, Novak Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka) have died down from the 2012 Australian Open, it is a good time to look at some tennis betting season specials. The long season of course is dominated by the four Grand Slams, and we have knocked one of those off the 2012 calendar already. So the big question is, how is the rest of the season going to go, and what have we learned from the Australian Open. Well, the first thing confirmed, more than learned, is that Novak Djokovic is still the man to catch. The Serbian star showed remarkable resilience, in first taking out Andy Murray in an enduring five set semi final, before holding off Rafael Nadal in the longest ever Grand Slam final. So it looks as if no matter how hard he is going to be pushed, he isn’t ready to break yet, and the fact is, that he was pushed harder in this year’s Australian Open than he was in any three of Grand Slam titles last year. So with the first Slam under his belt this season, is it another remarkable season on the cards for Djokovic? Can he go one better than last season and win all four Slams?

Novak Djokovic Season Specials
How many Slams will Novak Djokovic win this season? Two Slams is trading at 9/5 with Bwin, Three Slams at 3/1 with Stan James and the Holy Grail of all Four Slams in this calendar year is trading at 9/1 with Stan James. Oh yes, we overlooked him just winning one (at 11/4 with Coral) but that just seems way too unlikely. You have to bear in mind that Novak Djokovic has won four of the last five Grand Slams. That has to count for something. This guy is so far ahead that he is pretty much a dead cert already to finish as World Number One again at year’s end, but you can get a price of 4/9 with Paddy Power down on that one.

Rafael Nadal Season Specials
It is still debatable as to whether or not the great Spaniards was truly at his best at the Australian Open. The former world number one saw off Roger Federer in epic style in the semi finals, and then pushed Novak Djokovic as far as he possibly could in the final at Melbourne Park. So that suggests that Nadal, who has been tweaking his game deliberately to try and closer match Novak Djokovic, is going to get very close to Grand Slam titles this year. The big thing about Nadal, is his presence at the French Open, and the clay surfaces at Roland Garros, where he is the king. He proved it again there last season, that that is his tournament and while Djokovic does have the edge over him at the moment, even on clay, Nadal’s showing in the final of the Australian Open suggests that he is going  to have a more profitable season than last. If you can put the French Open in his pocket again, then there is positive value at 5/4 with Bwin for Rafael Nadal to win one Grand Slam this season. The thing about this, is that if the rankings are going to be the same, Nadal is going to face Federer in the semi’s of Grand Slams, and so he will get his shot at Djokovic.

Andy Murray Season Specials
Great Scot, what must the lad do to win a Grand Slam. That’s five semi finals in a row now for the British Number one, and he has still yet to convert. He drew a lot of plaudits though for the way he stood toe to toe with Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semi final. That was an epic five setter, which saw the best of Murray and he could have taken the match. Under the guidance of legend Ivan Lendl, is Murray on an upward swing. His early season form, which includes a Tour title already, would suggest so. You would realistically put his youth and drive over Roger Federer, so that narrows his chances, and if his performance against Novak Djokovic at Melbourne Park is a sign of what is to come for the rest of the season, then there is huge positives for him. If Djokovic and Nadal weren’t around, Murray would be winning Grand Slams, it’s as simple as it. It is all about mentally and physically breaking down those barriers, and he is going to run into Djokovic a lot this season at the Majors, so he will need to find a way to produce something against the world number one. Other positives was that he remained much more focus and ruthless against lesser opponents. So can Murray land a Slam this season? He is priced at 6/5 with SkyBet to win one, the most likely place it is going to happen is Wimbledon (the Australian Open would have been first choice, but that has gone).

Roger Federer Season Specials
Has the Fed Express finally ran out of steam? Well, the great one looks on cruise control most of the time, just as he did through the early stages of the Australian Open. The titles may be hard to come by now for him, but the world number three is still one of the classiest player on the ATP Tour. However, Federer was in great form at Melbourne Park, looking majestic, and yet he couldn’t get the better of old rival Rafael Nadal, and that could be the picture for the season in the Grand Slam. There is a lot to admire about Roger Federer, he makes the game look effortless, but up against the youth of power of Nadal and Djokovic especially, it is hard seeing the 2012 version of Federer pushing on and getting past both of them in a tournament to land a Grand Slam. That is why he really is at the back of the top four when it comes to Grand Slam tennis betting sadly. He will keep going, keep positive, but his glory days of Slams may have already drawn to a close. Still, staying optimistic, if you think he can land another one, then he is priced 13/10 at Bwin to do so, but with the bookies setting a general price of 4/11 for him to win no Grand Slams this year, paints a clear picture.

Nadal and Djokovic to win all 4 Grand Slams?
Great price of 6/4 for yes at William Hill. Very nice little tennis bet.

Next Player to Beat Novak Djokovic in a Grand Slam Final?
Well, the path should be pretty clear on this one, and that is Rafael Nadal at 4/7 with Ladbrokes. Because of the world rankings, we could see Djokovic v Nadal in all four Slams this season. If the world rankings stay the same, Djokovic will play Murray in the semi final stage, so that leaves Federer, should he beat Nadal in the other semi at a price of 4/1 with Ladbrokes to be the next man to beat the Djoker in a Grand Slam Final. However, if Andy Murray can climb back above Roger Federer in the world rankings he could get a crack at Djokovic in a Grand Slam final later in the year, and is 9/2 with Ladbrokes to be the man in this market.

Online bookmaker Victor Chandler run a great tennis betting promotion which is worth dipping into throughout the 2012 season. Place a match bet on any match from the main draw of an ATP or WTA event, and if your selection loses the match in a final set tie break, then you will get your lost stake back as a free bet. So this gives you some nice coverage on your tennis betting throughout the season, should your match selection lose in a cruel way in a final set tie break. Online bookmaker Bet Victor offer a free £25 bet for new customers registering an account. The bookie will match the value of your first stake on a new account, up to the maximum value of £25, with a free bet.

The Open Sud de France tennis betting is underway this week in Montpellier, and has moved up the calendar year. It used to be played in Lyon late in the year, but the indoor event now gets a run out at the start of the year again, since the switch to Montpellier in 2010. There is a great competitive field at the head of The Open Sud de France tennis betting here, and it is led by Czech star Tomas Berdych. Berdych went all the way to the quarter finals of the Australian Open last week and he has won before on French soil. This is the first time that he has entered the tournament here, but coming on the back of good form, should seed the world number seven make a really good crack at the title. But will the ever popular Frenchman Gael Monfils, on his home soil be able to defend the title he won in Lyon in 2010? The world number 15 is obviously ranked behind Berdych, but with his boundless energy and enthusiasm, Monfils is superb to watch, a true entertainer and he will naturally feed off the partisan home crowd. Monfils holds a great 8-1 match record at the event and should be a good bet as the third seed at the event. Another strong Frenchman on home soil should be Gilles Simon, who seems to enjoy this event. He reached back to back semi finals in 2008 and 2009, before the tournament switched from Lyon and there is always a betting favour in getting behind home based players in the field. Simon has a 9-5 match record at the event, similar to that of Richard Gasquet, who is a former winner of The Open Sud de France tennis betting. Frenchman Gasquet won the event back in 2006 so has experience of winning on home soil, and could well be a dangerous floater as the fourth seed this year. Big Spaniard Feliciano Lopez may be worth a look at in The Open Sud de France tennis betting. He made it to the last sixteen of the Australian Open and in Sydney, where he lost to fellow countryman Rafael Nadal. Could be the dark horse in the pack.

The Open Sud de France tennis betting will be enhanced with live streams being provided from BetFair. The highly popular online betting exchange is giving their customers the chance to get close to the action, with their great live streaming service to run alongside your live in play tennis betting. The streams are free to watch for BetFair account holders and it is part of a great service from the betting exchange, which enhances your live in play betting. The highly rated and highly popular BetFair offer a risk free £25 bet for new customers who open an account with them. If your first bet on a new BetFair account loses, you will be refunded your lost stake up to the maximum value of £25. There is also the great option to earn up to £1000 in cash back over the first 30 days of your betting on the new account. The bigger and more you bet on your BetFair account, the more points you earn as your cash back, and you can get up to £1000 in cash back!

It is naturally going to be a relatively quiet week in ATP Tennis betting this week after the euphoria of the Australian Open Grand Slam dies down. There are a couple of tournaments worth noting though for some betting opportunities, as well as the chance to watch some live tennis streams. Over in the ATP Zagreb there is not a particularly strong field, but some competitive runners in the mix. Ivan Dodig, the current world number 36, is the defending champion of the event, but is one of the chasing pack of outsiders as opposed to being a front runner. The Croatian player entertained the home crowed, including a massive victory over fellow countryman Ivan Ljubicic on his way to lifting his first ever ATP Tour title. There are a couple of other winners of this event in the field, which should represent stronger bets, with Ivan Ljubicic winning it is 2006 and Marcos Baghdatis in 2007.

So there is an evenly matched field here, but it is Croatian Ljubicic who has a pretty strong record at the ATP Zagreb. As well as winning in 2006, he made the final in the two following years as well, and overall holds a decent 16-5 match record at the event. Russian Mikhail Youzhny is in the field and he will have a lot to prove to himself after crashing out in the first round of the Australian Open, so he should be pretty hungry. Then there is Alex Bogomolov Jr who is an interesting an good value prospect in ATP Zagreb tennis betting. In his first run at the event last year, he made a run to the quarter finals, and he made a run to the quarter finals of Sydney earlier in the season so the Russian should be in pretty good shape.

Action from the ATP Zagreb tournament can be seen live at online bookmaker Bet365. The popular online bookmaker is showing live tennis streams from the event, which means that it is a great chance for you to get closer to the action. That will naturally benefit your live in play betting opportunities on your tennis selections. The live streams are free to funded account holders with the highly rated bookie, and is part of their highly impressive service to their customers. Bet365 offer a free £200 bet for new customers registering an account with them. The bookie will match the value of your first deposit on a new account with a 100% bonus, giving you up to the maximum of £200 worth of free bets to enjoy.

ATP Zagreb Tennis Betting Odds
Marco Baghdatis 7/2, Ivan Ljubicic 4/1, Mikhail Youzhny 13/2, Ivo Karlovic 6/1, Alex Bogomolov Jr 7/1, Lukas Lacko 14/1 at Bet365

Novak Djokovic v Rafael Nadal Australian Open Final tennis betting sees the world number one and two scrap it out for honours. Novak Djokovic, the current defending champion set up himself up for the defence of his title in the final, with an epic five set win over Britain’s Andy Murray in the semi final. Djokovic had to dig deep as Murray pushed him all the way, the Serbian taking the deciding set 7-5. That was Djokovic pushed hard and he still prevailed and he will know that he will have another tough encounter coming his way in the final against Rafael Nadal. The semi final will have been an exhausting affair against Murray, and Djokovic’s fitness has fully been tested now. He will have had a day’s less rest than Nadal will have had. After back problems at the end of last year, a suspected pulled hamstring and breathing problems during the action at Melbourne Park, there seems little sign of anything stopping the world number one. This time last year Novak Djokovic was about to embark on an incredible season of success. If he gets out to another strong start, it will be even harder to stop him collecting Grand Slam titles this year. It is just so difficult to get on top of Novak Djokovic to take three sets off him in a match. Murray came close, but the defence and determination which Djokovic pulled out was remarkable. That was a sign of a true champion, as if anyone didn’t know that anyway. While he fires off some remarkable winners, the defence which Novak Djokovic has is really the back bone of his game. Novak Djokovic v Rafael Nadal Australian Open Final tennis betting is going to be a test of endurance and it is the defence which will keep Djokovic in the games when the momentum is largely going against him. He is the complete player and will look forward to playing Nadal in the final more than anyone else. Djokovic has great respect for Nadal and knows that once again he will have to go through the great one to make it.

Rafael Nadal saw off the challenge of Roger Federer in the semi, overcoming his old foe in one of the great epic rivalries. While the Nadal v Federer rivalry is always a thrill to watch, seeing Nadal go up against Djokovic is probably the best final which the tournament could have produced. World number one v world number two for the honours, again. This is a repeat of last year’s Wimbledon final. A repeat of last year’s US Open final, and in both events the Spaniard came off second best. So Nadal will be looking for some revenge, even though he is going into the final as underdog and he is apparently quite enjoying that status. At the start of the new season, Rafael Nadal knew that he was playing catch up to Novak Djokovic in terms of ability and fitness. It was a difficult year for Nadal, losing his world number one status, battling with some injury and motivation issues and watching Novak Djokovic surpass him. So can Nadal can get a strike back early in the new season against Djokovic? Nadal has to get behind his first service game, because if that is not working, then Djokovic will be all over the Spaniards second serve, a big deciding factor in previous matches between the two. Rafael Nadal looked fit and strong in his semi final against Federer so we don’t see any issue with him keeping pace with Djokovic. However, the longer the match goes on, it is hard not to back the Serbian in endurance. Nadal’s biggest weapon is going to be his incredible forehand, and like Djokovic, reaching into the depths of his incredible defence (which was brilliant at times against Federer in the semi). All credit due to Nadal, who went into the Australian Open as fourth favourite behind Djokovic, Federer and Nadal. This is such an important match for him, can he break the cycle of Djokovic victories over him.

Have to look at some Novak Djokovic v Rafael Nadal head to head stats for your Australian Open Final tennis betting. In an incredible year last year, the two players met six times, all in the finals of tournaments. The outcome, well, six straight victories for Novak Djokovic. That is the hold which the Serbian has over Nadal at the moment and that really can’t be ignored. Which is the stronger will? Novak Djokovic defending his title, or Nadal getting some revenge and trying to avoid a seven game losing streak against the world number one. If this goes the way of Djokovic, who is favourite, then it will be a huge dent of confidence for Nadal, who has been working on improvements in his game in order to get closer to the Serbian.

Novak Djokovic v Rafael Nadal Australian Open Final tennis betting
Djokovic 4/6 at SkyBet
Nadal 6/4 at BetFred

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Victoria Azarenka v Maria Sharapova Australian Open Final tennis betting brings the potential of a highly competitive and close match. Young Belarusian Azarenka has been in superb form over the past few months, and after knocking on the door of Grand Slam finals last year, final crossed the threshold with a semi final win over Kim Clijsters. Azarenka had to play the partisan crowd at Melbourne Park, who were all behind Kim Clijsters in her final Australian Open, but it was Azarenka who showed some great early composure and dictated the game from early on. Azarenka is full of power and she has harnessed her aggression and passion into pretty much a complete package. It is not often that you see Kim Clijsters being bossed around on the court, but that is what Azarenka did in the first set. Clijsters punched back hard in the second set, taking it 6-1, but the new model of Victoria Azarenka, showed a tremendous amount of maturity to not crumble and struck back in the final set, taking it 6-3. That was a strong mental effort from Azarenka, matching her incredible power. She is one of the hardest hitters in the women’s game, and had incredible driving power in her backhands. When she gets behind them she looks unstoppable and she also had developed a very, very strong service game. So now the win over Clijsters, which sets up Victoria Azarenka v Maria Sharapova Australian Open Final tennis betting, was the biggest of her career and there could be more to come. Azarenka will go into the final as favourite, just edging things over Maria Sharapova. Not only is the Grand Slam title on the line here, the world number one spot is too. The winner will overtake Caroline Wozniacki at the top of the WTA rankings after the Australian Open.

While this is the first Grand Slam final for Victoria Azarenka, Russian Maria Sharapova has been here before. The young Russian (hard to believe that she is still only 25) has three career Grand Slam titles to her name. The only title she is missing is the French Open, and so as a previous winner of the Australian Open (in 2008) Sharapova has the big match experience. This is actually her third final at Melbourne Park, with one win and one defeat. That Grand Slam final experience really will count for a lot and it will be an advantage on her side of the court. There really is no substitute for having been there and done it all before. But there is not only that in Maria Sharapova’s game at the moment, she has been playing some incredibly consistent tennis throughout the rounds at Melbourne Park. She got her revenge over Petra Kvitova in the semi final, the player who had beaten her in the final of Wimbledon last season. Sharapova blitzed out a 6-2 lead taking the first set, but Czech star Kvitova hit back to take the second. We have said it before and will say it again, there is no tougher competitor in women’s tennis than Maria Sharapova. Forget all the glitz and glamour that surrounds the Russian queen, she is a tough, tough player. There is never a sign of her giving up, and is one of the best in the market when her back is against the wall, or she is playing against the odds. She epitomised her tough mental and physical prowess as she battled her way to victory in the third set, taking a close encounter 6-4 to reach the final. That is what makes Sharapova, who is well on top of her game and looking so confident, such a dangerous opponent. Because of all the hype and power surrounding the rise of one of our favourites, Victoria Azarenka, don’t think for a moment that Sharapova is not going to have a big say in the final. She is slight underdog, but will have her chance.

In the Head to head, it is evenly matched, with both players having won three matches against the other. They met twice last year, with Azarenka taking a win on the hard court in Miami and the Sharapova bouncing back with a win on clay in Rome. Really nothing much to chose between these on paper.

Victoria Azarenka v Maria Sharapova Australian Open Final tennis betting odds
Victoria Azarenka to win: 4/5 at Bet365
Maria Sharapova: 11/1 at SkyBet

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